Zoo

Zoo - Page Text Content

S: Potter Park Zoo, May 19 2011

2: Characteristics The arctic fox is dark gray to bluish brown in the summer, but during the winter its fur is bright white. It has a long bushy tail, a short nose, and small curled back ears. Each of it’s features, including the stubby legs and thick fur, help the arctic fox survive harsh temperatures. Behavior The arctic fox hunts in small bands (no more than 3) and they do not hibernate. In order to store food for the winter, they burying leftovers or hide them under stones. To find their hidden food stashes, the arctic fox relies on its well developed sense of smell. Somewhat unwary, have been known to enter camps in search of food or just out of curiosity. Did You Know? They also take advantage of polar bears by following them and cleaning up after they feed on a kill. They have also been found within 300 miles of the North Pole, and have withstood temperatures of -100F! Our Animals We have two females here at the zoo, all born in April of 2005. They were both rescued from the fur trade. | Arctic Fox

3: Did you know? Otters can see well under the water, but out of the water they are nearsighted. Because of their high metabolic rate, otters can consume 20% of their body weight per day. Otters use their long whiskers (called vibrissae) to hunt in dark or murky water. | There are 3 river otters here at PPZ, 2 males and 1 female. Shaq is the eldest at 20 years old. His favorite activity is napping. The other male, Mike, is a ball of energy. He loves to swim and run around the exhibit. Jilly, the female, is the youngest. She likes to play with her toys. All three also enjoy their training, which teaches them behaviors that help the keepers take care of them. For example, they are trained to stand up on their hind legs on command, so their bellies and paws can be examined. | North American River Otter

4: Eagles travel by soaring and gliding on thermals, which are columns of rising air, which allows them to cover great distances without flapping their wings. Eagles follow seasonal food supplies; as lakes and streams freeze over, they must go south to find open fresh water or head to the coast. Bald eagles are aggressive hunters but will often scavenge dead prey or even steal it from another bird when the opportunity arises. | Northern Bald Eagle

5: There are 2 wolves that call PPZ their home. Yukon, the male, and Bella, the female, make up their own small pack. Yukon has been at the zoo for many years, while Bella came to Lansing in 2009. Because of their thick fur, Michigan winters don’t faze them, especially when they have cozy shelters lined with blankets and straw. | Gray Wolf

10: Non-migratory birds, they will generally run to escape danger but can fly strongly for short distances. Peafowl have been domesticated for centuries, and in zoos are commonly given free rein since they are so comfortable around people. Roosting in trees or similar high places is common at night. Males are peacocks, females are peahens and young are peachicks. | Peafowl | We have over 30 peafowl on grounds here at PPZ! You can’t miss them strutting around the zoo and showing you their colors.

11: Spider Monkey | Domestic Yak

12: An ostrich egg, at 3.3 pounds is the largest single cell that exists today on our planet. It's also the largest egg, and it looks about the size of a medium cantaloupe. (Some of the dinosaurs had larger eggs. There's a dinosaur egg in the American Museum of Natural History in New York that's about the size of basketball.) For comparison, the smallest bird egg is the bee hummingbird. You could put 4700 bee hummingbird eggs inside one ostrich egg. The bee hummingbird egg is the size of a small pea and weighs .02 ounces. Carving an ostrich egg is difficult and wears out the drills rapidly. An ostrich egg shell has to be tough enough for a 300 pound bird to sit on it. I've seen pictures of an adult in South Africa standing on an unhatched egg. The ostrich hen will typically lay 10 eggs, but some productive hens will lay more. The hens will often lay their eggs in the same nest as other hens, with the result that you can find as many as 50 eggs in single a nest.

13: Bactrian Camel | The Bactarian camel has a thick, shaggy beige coat that provides warmth in the cold months, and during the warming, the coat falls away in large chunks to help cool the animal. To protect them from the sand and harsh conditions they live in, they have bushy eyebrows, a double row of long eyelashes, hair inside the ear, and they can tightly close their nostrils and lips to keep out flying sand. They are even-toed ungulates with wide, padded feet and calloused knees. Both male and female Bactrian camels have two large humps on their backs. | Llama

14: Eurasian Eagle Owl | Did You Know? Eagle owls are the largest owl in the world! Like most owls, eagle owls have excellent hearing and night vision. Eagle Owls will eat almost anything the moves - from beetles to roe deer fawns. They can even capture food in mid-air!

15: Patagonian Cavy

16: The Duck Pond

17: Trumpeter Swan

19: Magellanic Penguin

22: Laughing Kookabura

23: Binturong | Crested Porcupine | Chinese Muntjac

24: Meerkat

25: African Lion | Lions spend over 80 percent of their time conserving energy, which is important for large animals to survive where food may be difficult to get. That adds up to your average lion spending up to 20 hours a day resting or sleeping! Amboseli is our resident old lady at 21 years old, one of the oldest female lions in captivity!

26: Red pandas are crepuscular, which means they are active mostly at dawn and dusk. Most of the day is spent by resting and sleeping in trees. Territories are marked with substances from their footpads, and males fiercely defend their territory. Red pandas are agile climbers, and they use their long tail for support and counterbalance as they tend to sleep with legs straddling a branch, or tightly curled up with head under a hind leg. They eat sitting, standing, or (only a few other animals can do this) lying on their back. | Red Panda

28: Snow Leopard | African Lion (Dakota) | Amur Tiger

29: Mandrill | Mandrills live in troops of about 20, dominated by a single older male. The young are tolerated until they reach a certain age when the dominant male begins to instruct the young on proper mandrill behavior. Mother-daughter bonds last into adulthood; maternal bonds with sons last until sexual maturity, when juvenile males leave their natal group, often form bachelor troops and raiding other troops for females or challenging the dominant male in a group in a takeover attempt. The dominant male will control the troop with aggressive behaviors, such as raised eyebrows, ground slapping, and exposing his large canines. The group’s subordinates respond with submissive behaviors, such as repeated sideways glancing, cowering or crouching, or grimacing. | Loko | Jabari